The Wave, Coyote Buttes, Arizona, USA

In Arizona, near the border with Utah, in the United States, you can find a stunning sandstone rock formation called The Wave.

The Wave is on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes, which are in turn located in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, on the Colorado Plateau.

This formation is actually sand dunes calcified in vertical and horizontal layers, and the fascinating color bands are iron oxides, hematite, and goethite. The Jurassic-age Navajo sandstone making up The Wave is estimated to be 190 million years old.

Getting to The Wave requires a moderately difficult 3 mile hike from the Wire Pass Trailhead.

Due to the delicate nature of this formation, visitors must arrange a day permit in advance and pay a $7 fee per person. Only 20 of the highly sought-after permits are issued for each day. More info on permits can be found on the Bureau of Land Management website. Camping is not allowed in the permit area, and the closest accommodation can be found in the small towns of Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona.

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4 thoughts on “The Wave, Coyote Buttes, Arizona, USA”

Nice photos. A lot of good variety. We are freelancers so I don’t post many on my site. I’ll have to check out Cappadocia; we rode through there, and stayed awhile, on our tandem bicycle trip across the Silk Road.

While I’m flattered that you’ve included so many of my images, I’m a little bothered by the means you’ve gone about featuring them. You did provide credit, but the full-size view, when clicked, does not lead to my Flickr account as it should (as I’d very much prefer). If you can make that happen, well, I’ll be much happier about this.